Sony announces the PlayStation 4

Feb. 20, 2013
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The PlayStation 3. / Sony Computer Entertainment

by Brett Molina, USA TODAY

by Brett Molina, USA TODAY

Sony has officially joined the next generation, lifting the veil on its PlayStation 4 video game console at an event in New York on Wednesday.

The device places more focus on discovery and social features, allowing players to share videos of games and even broadcast live to their friends.

Several notable studios appeared to showcase their games, including Halo creators Bungie and World of Warcraft studio Blizzard Entertainment. Scroll down for a thorough breakdown of the event.

8:03 p.m.: House returns to wrap things up. Thanks for joining us!

8:02 p.m.: Members of Bungie take the stage to offer more on Destiny. PlayStation community will get exclusive content for the game on PS3 and PS4.

8:01 p.m.: This looks like the first Destiny gameplay footage shown. A great grab for Sony. The only thing better would have been Sony's Kaz Hirai running out with a Bungie logo tattooed on his bicep.

7:59 p.m.: Oh boy. Bungie's Destiny makes an appearance. This is the multi-year project between the studio and Activision revolving around a persistent online first-person shooter.

7:57 p.m.: Activision's Eric Hirshberg is up next. Could there be a Destiny sighting? And will a black hole open up if a Bungie game appears at a Sony event?

7:56 p.m.: Metzen says more details will be available at PAX East next month. "We're very excited about our partnership with Sony and what the future has in store for us," Metzen says.

7:54 p.m.: "We've held a deep desire to get back into the mix," Metzen says of hopping back into consoles after building a strong reputation as PC game developers. Metzen announces Blizzard's PS4 title: Diablo III. It will appear on PS4 and PS3.

7:52 p.m.: Chris Metzen of Blizzard (yes, the studio behind World of Warcraft) is up on stage. Very interesting. Blizzard and Sony have entered into a strategic partnership, he says.

7:51 p.m.: The game appears to use a slow-motion mechanic similar to Max Payne. The player uses it during a police escape, showing time to shoot out a car's tires and create a diversion.

7:49 p.m.: The demo kicks off with the lead character roaming the city. He spots people on the sidewalk, hacking one person's bank account through his smartphone. He then grabs some cash by hacking an ATM. When players encounter a character, they receive tidbits about their life. For example, one woman the player walks past just won a custody battle against her ex. He now breaks up a robbery and begins a foot chase.

7:46 p.m.: For those who don't remember Watch Dogs, it's based in Chicago, and allows players to complete objectives by hacking into the city by controlling city cameras, street lights and even infiltrating characters' mobile devices. Demo time.

7:45 p.m.: "Games are tailored to match your interests and quickly adapt to meet all your needs," Guillemot says. There were theories at E3 last year that Watch Dogs had next-generation written all over it, based on the robust backgrounds. Seems like they were right.

7:42 p.m.: Shinji Hashimoto, brand director of Final Fantasy, is up on the stage. He says they will develop a new Final Fantasy title for the PS4, which will be revealed at June's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

7:41 p.m.: "This is the level of quality Square Enix is targeting for its next generation of titles," says Hashimoto. "It's a game developer's dream."

7:39 p.m: The demo is set in a desert, inside what appears to be a temple. A battle ensues between gunmen and a woman with lightning-based powers. Visuals border on CG quality.

7:36 p.m.: Yoshihisa Hashimoto, chief technology officer of Square Enix, is up next. "This is a historic event for the game industry," he says. He is about to introduce a real-time cinematic demo.

7:34 p.m.: The "working title" is called Deep Down, and appears to be a fantasy action game. Another example of how many of the smaller things such as facial features and expressions are rendered with great detail.

7:32 p.m.: Ono strolling through a bit of Capcom and PlayStation history before discussing the new graphical engine for the PS4. Ono says developers "continue to refine" the engine, code-named Panta Rhei, to maximize the tech of the console. We're about to watch a new game showcasing the engine.

7:28 p.m.: House back on stage, saying every major third-party partner will support PS4. Street Fighter designer Yoshinori Ono takes the stage to talk about something not related to his popular fighting game.

7:26 p.m.: The studio is showing a sculpted animation featuring a dancing couple that switches to an instrument-friendly musical performance with guitar and keyboard, showing how creative PS4 can be for designers.

7:24 p.m.: Media Molecule used a sculpting tool in PS4 with a Move controller. A developer with the studio says the tools for creation were easy to use and quick to share.

7:21 p.m.: LittleBigPlanet studio Media Molecule up next breaking down the perks of working on PS4. They focus on creation and sharing, staples of the LittleBigPlanet series.

7:19 p.m.: Cage is showing off how faces can be created in PS4. It's a shocking level of detail. You can see bags under the older gentleman's eyes, defined wrinkles. It's rather striking.

7:16 p.m.: "In a medium like ours, technology is very important," says Cage. "It is what we rely on to get the player emotionally involved."

7:15 p.m.: Denny says we're going to look at a glimpse of the future and demonstrate "what is possible with the PlayStation 4 with unbridled creativity." David Cage on stage.

7:14 p.m.: The premise of The Witness is simple: players solve these puzzles to unlock new sections of the island and discover its secrets. For the players that remember Braid, it should prove tough.

7:12 p.m.: Earlier, Sony Worldwide Studios' Denny discussed giving smaller developers an easier time to bring their creations to the PS4 before ceding the stage to Blow. Got a glimpse of The Witness at last year's Game Developer's Conference, and it features some challenging, clever puzzles. Blow says his game will only be on PS4.

7:10 p.m.: Jonathan Blow of Braid fame on stage to unveil his latest game for the PS4. "I don't really know what I'm going to do to follow up all those explosions," he jokes before moving onto The Witness, a puzzle game where players explore a mysterious island.

7:07 p.m.: The game is from studio Sucker Punch, who created the inFamous series. Describes a tightly-controlled world where some humans with extraordinary powers reign undetected. Appears to show a character teleporting around a city taking out soldiers. It has a dark atmosphere. The game is called Second Son.

7:04 p.m.: Mysterious presentation talking about monitoring citizens through cameras and mobile phones. Feels like the Watch Dogs demo at E3 last summer.

7:03 p.m.: DriveClub feels like a socially focused take on Gran Turismo, as players pair up with friends or others around the world in drive teams. The racing looks sharp.

7:01 p.m.: Real-world cars being created with "obsessive love," says the Evolution designer. Each car sparkles, with details such as threading in car seats.

6:59 p.m.: Racing game is about people and collaborative gameplay with friends, says the Evolution Studios rep. He adds DriveClub is a game to play in real clubs. It's about challenges, not races. It will include an app for choosing races and setting times, and sharing with other players worldwide.

6:57 p.m.: Now shifting to a racing game called Driveclub. Developer of Evolution Studios on stage to discuss the game. It focused on "team-based racing." It has been a studio concept for the last 10 years.

6:55 p.m.: The Killzone demo continues with the player swinging through the city on a rope attached to a flying ship, shooting oncoming enemies with a pistol. Lots of depth and detail in the background visuals.

6:53 p.m.: Trailer features player walking through city before explosion strikes glass building. The level of detail from smoke to charred rubble is really impressive. Combat looks intense.

6:49 p.m.: Watching video of Killzone: Shadow Fall. Early impression: gorgeous. Lots of detail in the downtown city environment.

6:47 p.m.: Herman Hulst of Guerrilla Games on the stage. Killzone time.

6:46 p.m.: Michael Denny of Sony Worldwide Studios is up next. "The future of PlayStation is about great games," he says.

6:45 p.m.: More details on the PS4 controller: there's a Share button near the top of the controller to upload videos or any other content to share with other players. "This is what PlayStation is about. It is about innovation," says Cage.

6:43 p.m.: Quick reaction: it seems Sony is really trying to correct a lot of the issues with PS3, particularly when it comes to sitting around and waiting for downloads or updates. That's a strong start.

6:40 p.m.: Now watching a video montage of developers singing the praises of the PS4. Tim Schafer of Double Fine Productions and David Cage of Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain) among designers featured.

6:38 p.m.: Several entertainment partners will join PS4, as they have with PS3, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video. Perry now discussing access to older games "in seconds" on any device nearby.

6:37 p.m.: Watching a playthrough of Knack for PS4 on a Vita. Visuals still look really sharp on the smaller screen. Gaikai technology has been integrated into PS4, says Perry.

6:36 p.m.: Perry focusing on Remote Play, which will take advantage of the PlayStation Vita. Players can transfer a game from PS4 to a Vita. Sounds similar to what Nintendo does with the Wii U GamePad.

6:34 p.m.: Perry talking about how spectating has become a huge part in the industry, and how to improve it. Using a Share button, players can broadcast a play session in real time. Friends can also interact online while you play. Friends can even assist if a player gets stuck in a tough spot. If Sony pulls it off, that is really amazing.

6:33 p.m.: Perry says cloud technology will play a big part, including a "Try it Now' option where players can experience a game they're interested in immediately while browsing the PlayStation Store. Perry says they've partnered with Facebook and Ustream.

6:32 p.m.: Perry says PS4 and the PlayStation Network will be integrated with Gaikai, which was recently acquired by Sony. "The gamer is at the center of the PlayStation Network," says Perry.

6:30 p.m.: So far, the focus is tightly squared on the experience of play, and not so much on technical details. David Perry of Gaikai about to take the stage. Wonder if we'll clear up the streaming game rumors.

6:27 p.m.: The PS4 will also feature a heavily-integrated social component as well. Personalization will be big, too. The system will get to know you and get to closer to the experiences a player seeks, says Cerny. Players can find content by creator and genre. Cerny says it will be predictive.

6:26 p.m.: Cerny says sharing video of gameplay will be a huge component in PS4. Players can pick spots in a game, and the system will make the edit and upload while the player continues their adventure.

6:25 p.m.: Players will be able to suspend and resume titles, leaving the console in a sleep mode until the player wants to return. Sounds a lot different than a simple pause. A secondary chip allows for background downloads, which can be done while a game is being played. A welcome change.

6:22 p.m.: Cerny shows a trailer of a game he's working on for PS4. It's an action game called Knack. It stars a character that can quickly change his size. Interesting action game.

6:18 p.m.: Cerny is about to introduce some demos of the new DualShock controller for PS4. It appears most of those leaked pics seem legit. Controller designed in tandem with a stereo camera similar to Kinect.

6:16 p.m.: Cerny says PS4 is "an evolution of gaming itself."

6:14 p.m.: "We wanted to make sure that nothing came between the platform and the joy of play," Cerny continues, adding he wanted to make sure the console infrastructure easily connected players.

6:12 p.m.: "Every major console from the Atari 2600 ... all the way from the PlayStation 2 had been a single-purpose device," Cerny says.

6:11 p.m.: Mark Cerny, the lead system architect of the PS4, takes the stage. Cerny has worked at Atari and on franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog.

6:10 p.m.: "We must give gamers the kind of multi-dimensional experiences they not only expect, but quite frankly, deserve," says House in describing PS4.

6:10 p.m.: House says the process for this transition is developer led and consumer inspired. PlayStation 4 is official.

6:08 p.m.: House says "the demands for a new platform were clear." He says changes would have huge impact on PlayStation's full portfolio of products.

6:06 p.m.: House says Sony is focused on expanding PlayStation content to tablets and smartphones. Users have a taste of this through their PlayStation Mobile platform.

6:05 p.m.: House says they will simplify processes for PlayStation users, adding the gamer will now be the central focus of PlayStation, not the living room. "Ease of access" has been a huge priority, says House.

6:04 p.m.: Andrew House of Sony pops on stage to kick things off. "The stakes are high for what we are going to show you." House says it's a "bold step forward" for PlayStation and Sony.

6:02 p.m.: We start with a montage of PlayStation's greatest hits, including God of War and inFamous. Yep, this is definitely a Sony PlayStation event.

Update at 6:00 p.m. ET: It appears the event is under way. Lights seem to have dimmed. It's go time.

Sony is getting ready to kick off its PlayStation event in New York City, where it is expected they will unveil their next home video game console.

Meanwhile, there are countless rumors out there on what Sony might reveal. Let's take a look at some of the most interesting tidbits:

-- Kotaku reports Sony plans on launching the next PlayStation this November for $429 and $529 respectively. That's well below the $499 and $599 the PS3 went for when it launched in 2006. The report also claims users will be able to control the console with a smartphone or tablet. Considering most support Bluetooth, which the PS3 currently uses for traditional controllers, this makes sense.

-- IGN rounds up reports tied to a prototype image of the console's controller, which appears to feature a touchpad and potentially built-in support for PlayStation Move.

-- Sony may also reveal new information linked to its acquisition of streaming games service Gaikai. The Wall Street Journal reports the next PlayStation will stream PS3 titles.